CERTguide 70-234 Study Guide
What is 70-234 all about?
Exam 70-234: Designing and Implementing Solutions with Microsoft Commerce Server 2000
When you pass this exam, you achieve Microsoft Certified Professional status. You also earn credit toward the following certifications:
n Elective credit toward Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer on Microsoft Windows 2000 certification
n Elective credit toward Microsoft Certified Solution Developer for Microsoft .NET certification
n Elective credit toward Microsoft Certified Solution Developer certification
n Elective credit toward Microsoft Certified Application Developer for Microsoft .NET certification
According to Microsoft,
“
This certification exam measures your ability to design and implement solutions by using Microsoft Commerce Server 2000.
”
Testing objectives include:
n Analyzing Business Requirements
n Designing a Commerce Server Solution
n Installing and Configuring Commerce Server 2000
n Developing a Commerce Server Solution
n Deploying a Commerce Server Solution
n Maintaining and Supporting Your Commerce Server Solution
The characteristics of the Commerce Server 2000 environment and the audience profile we are talking about in this exam are:
“Candidates for this exam operate in small to very large computing environments that use Microsoft Commerce Server 2000. Candidates have a minimum of one year's experience developing e-commerce sites and two years' experience designing applications by using Microsoft technologies. Candidates have a working knowledge of development tools such as Microsoft Visual Basic®, Microsoft Visual C++®, COM+, and ASP. Candidates also have a working knowledge of Microsoft Windows® 2000, Active Directory™, Internet Information Services (IIS), SSL, Microsoft SQL Server™ 2000 database management system (DBMS), and SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services. Candidates have a conceptual knowledge of Network Load Balancing and firewalls.” http://www.microsoft.com/traincert/exams/70-234.htm
You should make yourself completely familiar with the technical side of SQL Server, COM+, XML, IIS, SSL and ASP before attempting this exam. These items will appear in your exam.
n SQL Server – Microsoft flagship database server product
n IIS – Microsoft flagship web server solution
n COM and COM+ - model for binary code developed by Microsoft that enables programmers to develop objects that can be accessed by any COM-compliant application. ActiveX is based on COM.
n XML – Extensible Markup Language - a specification developed by the W3C that allows designers to create their own customized tags, enabling the definition, transmission, validation, and interpretation of data between applications and between organizations.
n SSL – According to webopedia.com: “Short for Secure Sockets Layer, a protocol developed by Netscape for transmitting private documents via the Internet. SSL works by using a public key to encrypt data that's transferred over the SSL connection. Both Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer support SSL, and many Web sites use the protocol to obtain confidential user information, such as credit card numbers. By convention, URLs that require an SSL connection start with https: instead of http:.”
n ASP – According to webopedia.com: “A specification for a dynamically created Web page with a .htm extension that utilizes ActiveX scripting -- usually VB Script or Jscript code. When a browser requests an ASP page, the Web server generates a page with HTML code and sends it back to the browser. So ASP pages are similar to CGI scripts, but they enable Visual Basic programmers to work with familiar tools.”
You do not have to be an expert in VB or VC++ programming. However, knowing the concepts of Windows based web application development will definitely be a plus.
As of the time of this writing the exam does not test anything on the new .NET technology.
What is Commerce Server?
n delivers a scalable e-commerce platform
n provides ready-to-use features for developing, deploying, and upgrading effective e-commerce applications for the Web
n enables customers, Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to build solutions that scale with business needs
n comprised of five systems
u Business Analytics System
u Product Catalog System
u Targeting System
u Profiling System
u Business Process Pipelines System
Commerce Server Solution Sites
Commerce Server includes the following Solution Sites:
n Blank - includes all of the Commerce Server resources.
n Retail - includes functionality for personalization, merchandising, catalog search, customer service, and business analytics
n Supplier - provide secure user authentication and group access permissions, purchase order and requisition handling, catalog updates and exchange, and trading partner self-service
Commerce server Solution Sites capabilities:
n Merchandising.
n Catalog display.
n Browsing categories.
n Customer service.
Commerce Server Admin tools
Business Desk:
n business management modules
n allows you to configure, manage, and analyze your site
Server Manager:
n hosted by MMC
n for you to manage and configure:
u server resources
u sites
u applications
u Web servers
Site Packager:
n Packages a site and its applications and resources into a single file
n for moving package file to another environment or for site developers to deliver sites to their customers.
Business Analytics System
n use the Commerce Server Data Warehouse to collect day-to-day operational data about users who visit your site, including:
u user profile data
u transaction data
u click-history data
n use Business Desk to analyze the resulting data.
Business Process Pipelines System
n define and link together one or more stages of a business process - each stage contains one or more pipeline COM objects for meeting site's requirements.
n run business process stages in sequence to complete a specific task
n can use the pipeline infrastructure to implement several pipeline models:
u Order Processing Pipeline
u Direct Mailer Pipeline
u Content Selection Pipeline
u Event Processing Pipeline
Product Catalog System
n create catalogs of products
n add and update product data
n provides both import and export functionality
n allows you to define and modify your catalog schema
Profiling System
n collect and store information about the users who visit your Web site
n data can come from multiple data sources:
u Step 1: import the profile data into the Data Warehouse
u Step 2: analyze it and use the results of your analysis to target content to groups of users
Targeting System
n deliver content to one or more selected users
n includes four distinct subsystems:
u CSF
u Direct Mailer
u Expression Builder and Expression Evaluator
u Predictor resource
CSF
n shorts for Content Selection Framework
n based on the Commerce Server pipeline architecture
n use the Commerce Server Business Desk Campaigns module to create and schedule marketing campaigns
n manage different types of campaigns for multiple customers
n rank, select, and schedule any type of content
Direct Mailer
n send personalized e-mail messages from a Web page
n send non-personalized mailings from a flat text file to large groups of recipients.
n tracks e-mails that have been sent and clicked
n can be used as a stand-alone process
n can be integrated into the Campaigns modules in Business Desk
Expressions
n the Expression Builder works closely with the Expression Evaluator
n use the Expression Builder to create targeting expressions for your marketing campaigns
n use the Expression Evaluator to create business rules for personalized ad targeting, promotions, direct mail campaigns, and content targeting
Predictor Resource
n recommends products to users online
n fills in missing properties in user profiles
n you are recommended to collect data on at least a few thousand users to get enough data to analyze before you deploy the Predictor resource
Practical
You should try out the use of Commerce server. To do so, you need to download the following evaluation software:
n Windows 2000 Advanced Server Trial page
n Windows 2000 Service Pack 1 page
n SQL Server 2000 Trial Software page
n Internet Explorer 5.5 Downloads page
As said by Microsoft,
“Commerce Server 2002 requires Microsoft Windows® 2000 Server, Microsoft SQL Server™ 2000, and Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5.”
The exam tests Commerce Server 2000. However, it seems like it is version 2002 that is available now.
The link to download: http://www.microsoft.com/commerceserver/evaluation/trial/default.htm
Commerce Server editions
Evaluation Edition
n available for evaluation purposes
n limited to a 120-day period
n should not be deployed in a production environment
Developer Edition
n available to developers through Microsoft MSDN
n designed for developers or consulting partners to write customized code and perform simple unit testing
n not intended for use with multiple servers designated for formal operations
n license covers installation on two computers:
u one computer used for development
u one computer that is used as a development Web server.
n you cannot upgrade the Developer Edition to the Standard or Enterprise Editions
Standard Edition
n designed for the mid-market organization using a per processor license.
n can be implemented in sites that have high availability requirements
n can be upgraded to the Enterprise Edition.
n scales to two processors
n scales to two Web servers per application
n supports two Commerce Server applications per site
Enterprise Edition
n support advanced features of business analytics available only to Enterprise Edition customers
n support licensing based on the per processor model.
n can scale to 32 processors
n can scale to as many Web servers and Commerce Server applications as your hardware supports
n can support ten sites per Data Warehouse.
System Requirement (Commerce Server 2000)
|
Commerce Server 2000 Minimum Requirements (extracted from Microsoft’s page at http://www.microsoft.com/commerceserver/evaluation/sysreqs/2000/default.htm ). * For the system requirement of version 2002, visit http://www.microsoft.com/commerceserver/evaluation/sysreqs/2002/default.htm |
|
|
Processor |
Pentium-compatible 400-megahertz (MHz) or higher processor |
|
Operating System |
Microsoft Windows® 2000 Server or Windows 2000 Advanced Server with Service Pack 1 (SP1) or later |
|
Memory |
256 megabytes (MB) of RAM minimum recommended |
|
Hard Disk |
· 100 MB of available hard disk space to install services; additional space required for site content and databases · NTFS-formatted hard disk volume |
|
Drive |
CD-ROM drive |
|
Display |
Windows 2000–compatible video graphics adapter with 800 x 600 minimum resolution |
|
Mouse |
Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device |
|
Other Requirements |
· Network adapter card · Microsoft SQL Server™ version 7.0 with Service Pack 2 (SP2) or SQL Server 2000 |
|
Admin Console Minimum Requirements (extracted from Microsoft’s page at http://www.microsoft.com/commerceserver/evaluation/sysreqs/2000/default.htm ). * For the system requirement of version 2002, visit http://www.microsoft.com/commerceserver/evaluation/sysreqs/2002/default.htm |
|
|
Processor |
Computer with a Pentium-compatible 266-MHz or higher processor |
|
Operating System |
Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 2000 Server, or Windows 2000 Advanced Server with SP1 or later |
|
Memory |
128 MB of RAM |
|
Hard Disk |
20 MB of available hard disk space |
|
Drive |
CD-ROM drive |
|
Display |
Windows 2000–compatible video graphics adapter with 800 × 600 minimum resolution |
|
Mouse |
Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device |
|
Other Devices |
Network adapter card |
|
Business Desk Minimum Requirements (extracted from Microsoft’s page at http://www.microsoft.com/commerceserver/evaluation/sysreqs/2000/default.htm ). * For the system requirement of version 2002, visit http://www.microsoft.com/commerceserver/evaluation/sysreqs/2002/default.htm |
|
|
Processor |
Computer with a Pentium-compatible 266-MHz or higher processor |
|
Operating System |
Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Windows Me), Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 2000 Server, or Windows 2000 Advanced Server with SP1 or later; Microsoft Windows NT® Workstation 4.0 or Windows NT Server 4.0; or Microsoft Windows 98 |
|
Memory |
32–128 MB of RAM depending on operating system requirements |
|
Hard Disk |
5 MB of available hard disk space |
|
Drive |
CD-ROM drive |
|
Display |
Windows 2000–compatible video graphics adapter with 800 × 600 minimum resolution |
|
Mouse |
Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device |
|
Other Requirements |
· Internet Explorer 5.5 or later · Network adapter card |
Deployment security risks
Below are the strategies recommended by Microsoft at http://microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.htm?url=/technet/prodtechnol/comm/default.htm :
|
Risk |
Mitigation strategy |
|
Site downtime |
· Test servers prior to deployment. |
|
Hacker attacks or viruses |
Add
firewalls to your site architecture. |
|
Power outages, fire, flood, lightning, and so on |
Back
up your system regularly and store backups in a secure, off-site
location. |
Below are the risk severity recommended by Microsoft at http://microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.htm?url=/technet/prodtechnol/comm/default.htm :
|
Severity of risk |
Environment |
|
Low |
Stand-alone server in a room with locked doors |
|
Medium |
Corporate desktop with intranet connection |
|
High |
Anything connected to the Internet |
|
Very high |
Monetary transactions conducted on the Internet |
|
Extremely high |
Transactions that impact people's lives and privacy conducted on the Internet |
Commerce Server backup and logging
Log files:
n server log files
n Pup.log created by Commerce Server Site Packager
n Setup.log created by Commerce Server Setup
n Debug.log records all actions for the Profile Designer module
n Basket.log created each time a pipeline is used
n Total.log created each time a pipeline is used
n Checkout.log created each time a pipeline is used
Microsoft suggested practices for reducing the time it takes to recover your data after a disaster:
n Use archiving to reduce the size of your Commerce Server databases.
n Use multiple backup devices simultaneously.
n Use a combination of full-database, differential-database, and transaction-log backups to minimize the number of backups that must be applied.
n Use file and file-group backups and transaction log backups.
n Use snapshot backups to minimize or eliminate the use of server resources.
Important white papers to read:
Reducing or eliminating downtime in a Commerce Server 2000 environment:
n Designing a Highly Available E-Commerce Site
n A Highly Available E-Commerce Architecture
n Operating System Availability
n Active Directory Availability
n SQL Server Availability
http://www.microsoft.com/commerceserver/techinfo/planning/2000/CS_High_Avail.doc
Authentication services and the most commonly used business configurations:
n Executive Overview
n Product Overview
n Authentication Features and Implementation Methods
http://www.microsoft.com/commerceserver/techinfo/development/2000/wp_CS2KAuth.doc
Commerce Server Performance Tools
n Commerce Server 2000 Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA)
n Commerce Server 2000 Site Performance Analysis
n Commerce Server 2000 Component Performance Analysis
n Commerce Server 2000 Performance and Capacity Tools
Deploying Content on a Commerce Server Site
n Deploying Content
n Deployment Tools
n Deployment Scenarios
n Deployment Examples
http://www.microsoft.com/commerceserver/techinfo/administration/wp_deployingcontent.htm
Migrating from Site Server to Commerce Server 2000
n Planning the Migration
n Developing
n Deploying
http://www.microsoft.com/commerceserver/techinfo/deployment/2000/wp_sscemigration.htm
Reference Books:
Professional Commerce Server 2000 -- by Tim Huckaby, et al; Perfect Paperback
Microsoft Commerce Server 2000 Resource Kit (With CD-ROM)
(Paperback)
This study guide is developed by Michael Yu Chak Tin. He can be reached at Michael@examreview.net.